Jonathan Agassi Saved My Life

Film program, DE/IL 2018, 106 min., hebr./engl. OV + engl. UT

By: Tomer Heymann

With: Jonathan Agassi

Jonathan Agassi is one of the world’s most successful gay porn stars. Director Tomer Heymann followed him for eight years, both in his temporary hometown of Berlin and with his mother in his homeland Israel, in Tel Aviv. Although Jonathan claims that he has the best job in the world and that it actually saved his life, it soon becomes clear that he is not particularly happy. Afflicted by childhood traumas, Jonathan seems casual in the execution of the countless sex acts with which he earns his living. But increasingly he is using hard drugs to numb his feelings. Finally, he is forced to see the harsh reality of his extreme lifestyle. A rare and intimate look into the world of porn and escorts, as well as the touching portrait of a unique mother-son relationship that redefines familiar family norms.